It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Which holiday allows family and friends to get together to eat a full-blown Christmas dinner but without having the stress of buying presents – Thanksgiving! Honestly, Thanksgiving has to be my favourite holiday…of course I’m saying this without ever actually cooking a Thanksgiving dinner but I somehow manage to invite myself over somewhere to enjoy the big day. Anyways, Thanksgiving has a bad reputation of making its consumers sleepy. This is true; however, the culprit might surprise you.

Turkey DOES NOT make you sleepy! The truth is, turkey contains a protein called tryptophan, which synthesizes into the neurotransmitter serotonin. Serotonin probably sounds familiar – it’s the neurotransmitter associated anti-depressant medication because it affects our mood as well as behaviour, appetite, and sleep. To be more specific – it induces sleep, hence the connection between turkey and sleepiness. However, we are not eating enough Turkey to cause this effect and there are so many other foods out there that contain MORE tryptophan than turkey, such as: cod, cheese, and pork. So, what’s making you tired?

The stress of having to cook such a big meal for so many people or simply eating a big meal full of carbohydrates (potatoes, stuffing, bread, pie etc)! Sorry, you can’t fake sleep anymore to avoid dish duty!